A Place To Rest Our Heads!

One of the most important things tour has taught each of us is the beauty of a bed – whether that means a foamy, an air mattress, a bay window, a couch or a box spring- if we can sleep on it, we’re grateful for it. Yes, we will lay our ten little heads down wherever our billets put us, and we will love every second of it! Speaking of both billets and sleep…our time in British Columbia has been sprinkled and stuffed with both. Sprinkled with sleep, and stuffed with billet love! Not only have we had a bed everywhere we go (even if it’s in a rock climbing cave!) we’ve gotten to eat (huge, delicious amounts of food prepared by wonderful and talented hands!), we’ve gotten to explore (downtown Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna…and more!) we’ve had adventures (like sailing!) and mostly, we’ve been shown what kindness is in every form. Although we had to get through some snow and some bus trouble to get there, we had a warm welcome to Vancouver Island.

Meeting Jacob’s parents was truly a treat (his Mom had no idea he talks about her every day!) and his friends all brought scrumptious treats to share, and our weekend only got better. We were privileged to have a native of the city and got to explore downtown Victoria, see a Hillsong United concert, drive in a seventies Volkswagen van, sail, and look out over beautiful Brentwood Bay all weekend. After the much needed recharge, we headed up the island for the week, where we met…MORE people! This is where sleeping in the bay window comes in – we were staying in a beautiful home on the edge of the world – or at least, that’s what all the ocean looks like twenty feet away and through the giant windows!

From Hamilton all the way to the edge of the West coast, we have been welcomed with open arms. Canada is where many call home, and that’s where we are always made to feel – at home. The truly special thing about this tour and the billets is just that. We are not only fed and bedded, we are welcomed home. As we prepare to leave the Westest of the West, (even with all our recent bus troubles) we say goodbye to oceans, mountains, the Malahat and Kokahola highways, and to people we now consider our families, because that’s really what it’s all about. Family is where you go to feel accepted, safe, and welcome. As Sarah often says, accompanied by her famous laugh…the West is the best. Our tour bus is home to our little LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) fam jam, but our LiveDifferent (formerly Absolute) family now extends across this great country. We’ve seen mountains, the two J’s (Jacob and Jenna Lane) have jumped in lakes, the prairies were flat, and we’ve logged too many miles to count – but we know we’ve always got a place to go home to, even if we aren’t exactly sure where or who it will be next. And that’s something each and every one of us values more than we value our beds.

Leah, a School of Leadership Student on the Road